Academy Notebook: Weekend results & a look ahead

Eduardo Solarzano brought his “A” game to Aptos on Saturday, pitching his first shutout of the season in a 1-0 victory by the Quakes Academy 16s over Santa Cruz. The sixth straight win for San Jose improves the Quakes’ record to 7-2 for the 2013-14 season and puts them back atop the division, one point ahead of idle Crossfire Premiere.

Kevin Perez scored the lone goal in support of Solarzano’s second win of the season. It was the fourth shutout win for the 16s this season, the other three belonging to Remi Prieur, and the effort lowered their goals-against average to a stingy 1.0 per game.

The 16s head into the winter break playing their best soccer of the year, giving up just three goals during their current six-game winning streak.

Up next will be the annual Winter Showcase in Bradenton, FL, where they will take on teams from across the USSDA. The first match will be Thursday, Dec. 12 against Montreal Impact FC of the Northeast Division. Friday, San Jose will square off with St. Louis Scott Gallaher Missouri from the Mid-America Division before they take on D.C. United from the Atlantic on Sunday morning. The 16s will have a single match with De Anza in January before resuming their regular schedule Feb. 8.

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The 18s fought hard against the Santa Cruz Breakers and came away with a 2-2 tie at Cabrillo College Saturday. It was, remarkably, their fourth tie in nine matches this season and sends them into the break with consecutive unbeaten games.

The Winter Showcase in Florida is next up for the 18s as well; their week in Bradenton pits them against some pretty stiff competition from around the nation. First up will be a Tuesday match with the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday the 11th of December. Philly has only one loss on the season and boasts the top defense in the Atlantic Division, allowing just six goals in eight matches thus far. Thursday, the 18s will take on the Crew Soccer Academy of Columbus, OH, who sit in the middle of the pack in the Mid-America Division with a 6-5-1 mark. After having Friday off, San Jose draws Baltimore Bays Chelsea, whose struggling offense is averaging just 1.1 goals per game through their first 10. January for the 18s will be the same as the 16s schedule with the lone De Anza match before returning full time in February.

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Miguel Romano improved his record to 8-1 and Kaya Fabbretti found the back of the net for the 14th and 15th times this season in a 3-1 victory by the 14s over Pateadores at the StubHub Center in Carson. It was the 7th time this season Romano has held the opposition to a single goal or less in a match that he started, including three shutout victories.

Fabbretti got the Quakes out to the early advantage with an 8th-minute goal over a Pateadores squad that had lost three straight after starting the season 5-0. Jose Macias evened things up in the 24th minute with his fifth goal of the year for Pateadores, but that was the end of the offense for the team from Southern California. Fabbretti didn’t wait long to get San Jose back on top, regaining the lead on his second goal of the game in the 40th minute.

Saturday was the second consecutive game for Fabbretti with a pair of scores after a bit of a lull in his torrid pace. Ivan Valencia added his 10th goal in as many games in the 50th minute to seal the deal for San Jose.

Sunday at the StubHub Center, the 14s faced off against 6-1-2 Los Angeles Futbol Academy. San Jose came up a little bit short and ended up on the wrong end of a 3-2 decision. LAFA, a talented squad, was also coming off a victory the day before, dropping Cal Odyssey 6-3.

Fabbretti once again provided the early offensive punch for the Quakes, staking them to a 1-0 lead in the 9th minute. Daniel Sanchez added his second of the season in the 23rd minute to put San Jose in the driver’s seat with a two-goal lead. The score remained the same into the half, but LAFA came out firing on all cylinders after the break. San Jose goalkeeper Sebastian Flores and his defense were able to keep LAFA’s high-powered offense in check until the 56th minute, when leading scorer Alejandro Barrera tallied his 8th goal of the year. Los Angeles continued to press the issue and got the equalizer in the 75th minute before finally taking the lead for good in the 80th.

The 14s will take on the Santa Cruz Breakers Sunday, Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. in Aptos before taking an extended break in their season. Santa Cruz brings a 3-6-2 mark into the match, having gone winless in each of their last five (0-4-1). Santa Cruz is led by standout forward Adrian Rebollar who has scored 10 goals in as many matches this season. The Quakes will look to build on their 8-2 record before taking a few months off and resuming play on March 1st.